Chapter Forty-Eight: The Wind Rises in the South Seas

John Tang said with a sad face: "The Batavia Council has not yet reached a conclusion, and the Governor is not easy to decide. For a while, this matter could not be settled. ”

Dorgon frowned and said, "It's been a month, why hasn't it been conclusive, what the hell is that council?" ”

John Tong did not know how to explain the Council to Dolgon, and in a way it was better to call it a board of directors, which was the representative of the seventeen real shareholders of the East India Company, who exercised power on their behalf at the Indonesian headquarters of the Dutch East India Company.

Even the Governor could not ignore their presence.

But this structure, explained to Dolgon, was not easy. He could only say vaguely: "It's similar to the Eight Kings Discussion." ”

"Hmph." Dorgon snorted. I don't know if I don't think of the Dutch Council, or if I don't think of the Eight Kings. However, he didn't say anything more, just said lightly: "This matter must be taken to heart, and the Netherlands should report it to me quickly if there is news." ”

"Wow." John Tang saluted a thousand times.

While John Tong and Dorgon were discussing the slow movement of the Dutch, the Dutch were arguing with each other.

"Governor, you must understand that the Japanese Merchant House occupies more than forty percent of our trade profits, and the company must not give up Japan's, and Zheng's actions have seriously affected the company's profits, and the gentlemen are already asking, why are the company's profits falling so much now? If there is no effective way to stop the loss. Then it's a good idea to have a ticket back to the Netherlands in advance. A white man shouted. He was dressed in the clothes of a Dutch officer. With his hand pressed against his slender sword, he leaned forward, almost touching the governor's face.

The Dutch governor was also annoyed: "Karl, you also know that the Zheng clan is our largest trading partner, and almost sixty percent of the trade is traded with the Zheng clan. Whether it is goods from China, or selling our goods to China, it has to go through the Zheng family. ”

The governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia was named Cornelius van der Lininn.

From his name, Fan, De, it can be seen that he is a noble son. Although it cannot be said that he is incompetent, in his opinion, he is even more reluctant to solve problems by force. On the one hand, there is the purpose of the Dutch East India Company, which is a commercial organization that does everything for the purpose of making money.

In his opinion, although Zheng's expansion has affected the company's profits, if he fights Zheng, the impact will only be greater. Also consider the risk of failure. And he has been governor for four years. As is customary, he has been out of office for about the same time, but only for a year or two

Between.

After leaving office, he can return to the Netherlands with the money in his hand and become a gentleman. If there is a big defeat at the last minute, he doesn't know what he is up against.

At this time, he would rather seek stability.

But this Carl Rainiers is different, he is a military man. He was also a veteran of the East India Company, originally a down-and-out military man, but in 1641, when the Portuguese conquered the Strait of Malacca, he rose to prominence. Then, in several conflicts with the indigenous people, he gained the upper hand and seized a lot of benefits for the company, which led to the rise of the company and became a very influential real power figure in the company.

In his opinion, war itself is business, and it makes more money than business.

The dissatisfaction with Zheng within the East India Company can be said to have been for a long time. He himself is driven by this emotion, except that he is a general and a very rational person. Although he longs for war, he does not blindly promote it.

Until the news of the Qing court came. He made up his mind.

For an officer who grew up in war, he knows that the important thing about a war is not how it begins, but how it ends. The fate of the Qing court made him see how to end it.

"Governor, before the Zheng clan monopolized the Japanese routes, it was only about twenty percent. If we let the Zheng clan develop again, then the Zheng clan will not trade with us, but turn to other people, the Spanish, the Dutch, the British? We're passive. ”

"This can't go on any longer."

"Moreover, now that the old lion is dead, and the young lion has not yet grown up, it is a good opportunity, if you miss this opportunity, you don't know when you will have the opportunity to destroy the Zheng family."

"We don't even need to destroy the Zheng clan, we just need to let the Zheng clan hand over the control of the Taiwan Strait and hand over the Japanese shipping routes, and we can achieve peace with the Zheng clan, and the entire northern Chinese market will be presented in front of our eyes."

"You know, war money is the best way to make it, and now let us help them build up a navy, there is too much money to be made, Lord Governor, don't you have any ideas?"

The Governor also knew this, and said: "Karl, you must know that our present profits are based on trade with South China, and if we are too close to the Tatars, will we still be able to get the goods of South China?" ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, don't worry about it?" "Now that South China is lukewarm to us, it is impossible for us to establish official ties with South China," Carr said. But after we joined the Chinese war, the situation was different. ”

"If you can win, don't talk about the benefits.

”

"If we can't win, we can also negotiate with South China, get out of the war in an honorable way, and sever ties with North China. In order to win us over, then for surveillance, South China must also establish official ties with us. ”

"When the time comes, we'll talk."

The governor secretly said in his heart: "Karl is not a reckless man either. I didn't expect this kind of plan to go ahead and retreat as expected. But when he thought about his tenure, he still said: "So what if South China has a peep on South China?" ”

"It's impossible." Karl smiled: "And there is no less, the battle between South China and North China is far from stopping. Just to say that the Chinese have always had a continental mentality, they have never thought of expanding their territory on the sea. ”

"As long as we give in a little bit. They won't do anything more. ”

"Only if you can get benefits, what is the value of face?"

The governor sighed and said, "Carl, what you say is good and right, but it is not appropriate. Europe is now in a mess, and the local people are desperate for money, soldiers, people, and war with Catholicism and even Spain. Especially the battle with Portugal against Spain, you also know. We really don't have the heart to provoke another enemy, to turn an ally into an enemy. ”

Later known as the Thirty Years' War, it was a large-scale war in Europe, between the Habsburgs and the Spanish Pope, as well as the German Catholic countries and Poland, while the anti-Habsburg side was joined by France, Sweden, the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Russia, and some Germans, and Italian anti-Habsburg princes.

As the name suggests, it has been playing for thirty years.

This war, just by looking at the names of the belligerent countries, you can see that almost the whole of Europe was involved, and some people even said that the financial crisis of the DPRK was related to it, because the outflow of silver was interrupted by the Thirty Years' War.

This war, which began in the 46th year of Wanli in China and continues to the present day, has swallowed up too much manpower and material resources in Europe, and it is said that some German princes, who are one of the main battlefields, have lost 30 to 40 percent of the population. Even if you talk about it in detail, the conflicts between the Netherlands and Portugal and Spain overseas can be regarded as part of this war.

Although the governor has received the news that this war has now come to an end, it has come to a time when no one wants to fight, and no one can fight it. Many countries have begun negotiations in private. But for a day when there was no peace, he had an excuse to reject Karl's presumptuousness.

You must know that the Netherlands has not fought with China and knows the strength of the Chinese. The last time was Shen Yourong's battle of fame, the Battle of Penghu.